Chapter 2298 Remnants
While the group came to terms with their first proper experience with Karma, Lin Mu went to check up on the remnants of the Chimera Plant.
After all, he didn't know to what extent it had been destroyed and if there was anything remaining from it.
"Hmm… Nothing apparent." Lin Mu muttered to himself as he looked down.
The Death Qi river now flowed where the Chimera Plant used to be and from what Lin Mu could tell it was filled all the way to the bottom of where the roots used to be. 'Could the fragments of the roots or anything else still be left there?' Lin Mu wondered having seen the durability of the branches and the roots.
Even when they were being destroyed by their skills, the outer layer of the branches had mostly stayed intact with only cracks forming in them. This told Lin Mu that the entirety of the plant wasn't as durable, it was only the outer layer that was the toughest like a shell.
~SHUA~
With that in mind, Lin Mu activated his Spatial Perception and glanced inside the depths of the Death Qi river. Since he was unable to look through the roots before, he reckoned if anything was leftover he'd be able to see it with his Spatial Perception as they would be the only thing that would 'block' his vision.
"Huh… there actually are some remnants." Lin Mu was surprised. "Though the amount isn't much." What he saw were only some inch long fragments that were now floating around in the Death Qi river.
He didn't think it was a good choice to leave them be, as anything could happen with such a thing lying around. Not to mention, Lin Mu thought that it would give them a good opportunity to study about them.
'Maybe we'll be able to figure out more weaknesses. Then we wouldn't have to specifically target the Fruiting bodies.' Lin Mu reckoned.
With that in mind, he observed the Chimera Plant's fragments and followed them until they started to rise to the surface. "What're you doing?" Lady Kang asked, approaching him.
The others were also nearby and were curious about it too.
"Waiting for the remnants of the Chimera plant to rise up." Lin Mu replied. "Perhaps we can study them." He added.
"There's still some left?" Lady Kang was surprised, as the explosion had been quite strong.
"Just a tiny amount compared to the entire plant. But yes, there's still some left." Lin Mu said as he finally saw one of the fragments surface.
~WHOOSH~
As soon as Lin Mu saw that, he divide down and swung his palm, causing a gust of wind to blow.
~SPLASH~
The fragment was swept up from the surface of the river by the wind and Lin Mu quickly caught it.
"Using the Bending Will Fists for this, clever." Crown Prince Feng Shun could see the method clearly.
Lin Mu didn't dare to touch liquid Death Qi as it was most certainly hundreds of times more potent than the gaseous Death Qi he had touched before. While he might be able to ensure the normal form of the Death Qi, he didn't think liquid Death Qi would be the same.
As such, he decided to err on the side of caution since he could.
"How is it?" Lady Kang asked, taking a look at the fragment of the Chimera plant that was barely an inch in size.
It seemed to be part of the bark from its texture and was rough on one side while being smooth on the other.
But what was more surprising was that it was entirely white on the underside.
"That's strange…" Lin Mu hadn't expected it to be like this either.
~CLANG~ CLANG~
He tapped on it, finding it to have a texture similar to metal. He then pinched it between his fingers and tried to bend it, but was unable to make it bend even slightly.
"That's tougher than most Metals I've seen." Lady Kang said, her eyes shining in a strange glint. "If something like this was to be auctioned, it would certainly sell for a very high value." She stated.
This was quite accurate, as the toughness of the bark was even higher than diamonds. "Maybe. But I doubt this can be smelted in anyway." Lin Mu replied. "And even if it could be smelted, it would be far too small to be used as a weapon." He added. "No it can," Lady Kang replied. "It can very well be turned into a small set of needles, or perhaps even an arrow tip." She suggested.
"Oh?" hearing that, an idea appeared in Lin Mu's mind. "An arrow tip huh…" he stroked his beard as the ideas started to multiply.
~pop~
While he was thinking about that, the second fragment surface making Lin Mu focus on it. ~WHOOSH~
He picked it up the same way as before and took a look at it. This fragment was a bit smaller than the first one in length, but was broader than it.
Testing it, he found it to have the same properties as the previous one. "Both are pieces of the bark." Lin Mu said. "I wonder if any of the root fragments are still down there." He muttered while waiting for the rest to rise up.
About a minute later, he saw the third and fourth fragment rise at the same time, so he scooped them up as well.
"That one looks different." Lady Kang said, seeing that one of them was of a different texture. "It's from the root, isn't it?" "Yeah, it's from the root." Lin Mu nodded, taking a closer look at it.
Similar to the bark, the root was rougher on one side and smooth on the other, but the rougher side had longitudinal striations on it instead of the more zigzag ones that the bark had. Though on the inner side, both were white.
"Are there any more fragments?" Crown prince Feng Shun asked from behind. "Just one more." Lin Mu said, waiting for the final one to rise up. It took about five minutes, but it finally reached the surface before being scooped up.
"This one is bigger." Lin Mu looked at the two and a half inch sized piece. "Another root piece." Lady Kang observed.
"Indeed." Lin Mu nodded his head before storing them away. "We can study them later. Perhaps we might be able to find some weakness of the Chimera Plant from these."
"It will be a good chance to figure out something that can penetrate through its tough skin." Ziran agreed. "I have a few poisonous herbs and ingredients. I can perhaps whip up something that can work on it." Crown Princess Shang stated.
"That'll be good." Lin Mu agreed.
"If that doesn't work, we do have a ready place to obtain something strong." Monk Hushu reminded. "The Offering Hall had plenty of poisons and corrosives. There might be something that'll work on it." "Of course!" Qiao De's eyes lit up. "Not just that, but we might be able to find something that can help us resist the sap too." He added.
"Perhaps a trip to the Offering Hall is in order, then." Lin Mu reckoned.
"We can go there and hunt the Chimeric Beasts on our way," Crown Prince Feng Shun spoke. "We haven't been there since last year, after all." He added.
"It'll be wise to take a look and reassess the situation of the region." Elder Hu was in approval too.
"Very well, let's head there." Lin Mu said as he took to the skies.
~WHOOSH~WHOOSH~WHOOSH~
Everyone followed along while keeping an eye out for any signs of Chimeric beasts. They also observed the changes in the land, but found that after twenty kilometer or so, the land seemed to be normal as before.
But after a hundred kilometers, they saw a huge object in the distance. "Is that… A Death Qi boundary?" Min Ju narrowed her eyes.
"Is seems like one." Daoist Chu spoke.
"But isn't it… a bit too big?" Qiao De asked, feeling a bit surprised at it.
Lin Mu too glanced at what was basically a kilometer tall black wall that extended for at least fifty kilometers in both directions.
"That's definitely new." Crown Princess Shang said. "We never saw a Death Qi boundary that big, did we?" "No, we haven't." Lin Mu said as he sped up to get a closer look. But when he was within ten meters of the Death Qi boundary, he suddenly got goosebumps making him stop.
~SPLASH~
All of a sudden, a whip like appendage rose out of the wall and tried to hit Lin Mu.
His eyes went wide and he immediately disappeared from the location, reappearing a few meters away.
"That was close." Lin Mu muttered, not having expected the wall to react in that way.
"Did it just attack you?" Crown Prince Feng Shun was shocked by it.